The investigation of a British woman who went missing four years ago in 2021 might have found a new lead. 41-year-old Sarm Heslop, who used to be a flight attendant from Hertfordshire in England, went missing in St John, in the Virgin Islands, after she arrived at her boyfriend Ryan Bane’s yacht. The latter used to operate high-end cruises on his yacht named Siren Song.
With the case continuing for more than 4 years now, the Virgin Islands Police Department has now released previously recorded footage of Sarm to the BBC, which comes across as one of her last appearances. It shows her and Ryan walking together before stepping onto a dinghy and then sailing away. The duo was holding hands, as seen in the video, BBC reported, walking down a wooden dock.
They motored away from Cruz Bay barefoot, after having spent an evening at a bar on the island, right before Sam was announced to be missing. The ongoing case and its proceedings are now being investigated for a new BBC documentary titled Missing In Paradise: Searching For Sarm. Her family is still awaiting a response from the police department and is looking for any traces of where she went.
#ENGLAND: Former flight attendant Sarm Heslop, 41, has not been seen since her boyfriend Ryan Bane discovered her missing from his £500,000 catamaran Siren Song in March 2021. She left her passport, phone and money behind. pic.twitter.com/99Duks3FZQ
— CaribbeanNewsNetwork (@caribbeannewsuk) September 15, 2025
The video has certainly opened new doors of investigation for this missing case. As per the Virgin Islands’ Chief of Police, Stephen Phillip, the case remains at a dead end. However, it can only proceed further if more leads are brought to light with the new video in question. He said, “We’re at a dead end. If anybody could look at this video and see something and say something, it can help. That’s why now.”
Interestingly, Sarm’s boyfriend, Ryan Bane, has not really been under formal questioning by the police department and has even left the Virgin Islands ever since the case was lodged. However, he has mentioned the possibility that the flight attendant had most likely fallen overboard or drowned while swimming, at a time when he was asleep. Ryan claimed that he discovered his girlfriend was missing around 2 a.m. local time the morning after they had sailed.
BBC re-navigated the exact incidents of the day of Sarm’s disappearance; she had already completed her first charter as the chef of her boyfriend Bane’s yacht. She then disappeared at exactly the middle of the night from his catamaran, leaving behind her passport, phone, and even money.
Missing Brit Sarm Heslop’s last recorded sighting captured on CCTV https://t.co/nuJXZpBbKw
— End of times (@BigBiggar1) September 15, 2025
Since Ryan Bane has been the sole person who might have known the exact incidents leading up to his girlfriend’s disappearance, there has been much scrutiny over his statements as well. As per the BBC, his statements about his last footage with Heslop leave out a major 1-hour inconsistency time stamp, which, according to Bane’s lawyer, is a ‘possible error amid stress’.
Moreover, it must also be remembered that Ryan blocked a second forensic search on his yacht according to The Times. As per the paperwork, the yacht owner tried to sell the infamous vessel seven months after Heslop went missing and even renamed it to Orion’s Belt in 2021. Thereafter, he no longer knows where exactly the vessel has been sent.
Later on, in April 2024, private investigator David Johnston, working for Sarm’s family, claimed to have heard from sources that Ryan Bane had allegedly made several changes to his yacht before selling it off, especially refitting the freezer, following his girlfriend going missing. Moreover, Ryan’s ex-wife Corie Stevenson also came forth and claimed to be under abuse from his end, and left their marriage for the sake of her life. As a result, he was convicted of domestic battery and sentenced to 31 days.
In response, Ryan’s lawyer, David Cattie, acknowledged the court proceedings but also highlighted that there was no evidence of his client’s violent altercation with Sarm Heslop at any point in time.
